Month: November 2019

Controlling the Narrative

The public impeachment hearings that have been held in Wahington over the past two weeks should be important to take in But are they? The drama going on may simply be between, on the one hand, establishing truth to act on (or not), and, on the other hand, simply engaging in a nasty battle over who controls the narrative. In other words, it’s all about what it’s all about.

It could be argued you’re not missing anything if you haven’t seen any of it. After all, you live it every day.

Do you live your own truth? Decide what that is? Do your best to live it? Or accept the most appealing narrative of the most compelling influencers–personal, political, or commercial?

It is almost Advent in the Christian calendar. You will find (still, at least in some churches) Scrioture employed that focuses on ultimate things, with Jesus talking about his Advent to come (e.g. Mark 13).

Advent celebrates that we have the opportunity to know, now, the one who is yet to come.

There is truth. Truth will win out. Truth matters. That should be obvious, but apparently it is not obvious.

And oh yes, there is an accompanying major Scriptural theme in Advent, drawing on scenes with John the Baptist (e.g. Luke 3). He anticipates Jesus’ own warnings against leaders who are obsessed with their power and status, and with controlling the narrative of their people and their time.

It will not end well for such people in any age.

The Use and Abuse of Names

I resist blaming aging for losing any facility for remembering names. It is a matter of basic respect and “you matter” importance. Just please don’t talk to me about ‘networking’ or whatever term is in vogue. Let’s credit people with the radar to detect, over time at least, when we have simply developed a skill that is for the purpose of developing connections in the interest of personal advancement. I know, that has its place in ‘the real world’ but let’s not assume it takes care of true personal engagement.

There is another aspect of the use of names that ought especially and enthusuasticaly to be eradicated.

I, for one, am wary of that person who begins everything said to you within a conversation with your name, sometimes spoken in what sounds like a sentence by itself.

I find it difficult not to suspect this kind of deployment of one’s  name as being anything other than a dominance device. Either blatantly deliberate and calculated, or habitually thoughtless, it will do the opposite of that which simply remembers and speaks names with honouring of personhood. It is, if calculated, objectifying and therefore abusive.

Names, like the persons to whom they belong, are precious. Name calling, on social media, at school lockers, or settings of work or worship (yes, i said worship), is a real and present scourge.

May we take great care with names.

Genesis 32:27-28.  Matthew 16:18

Berlin and More

This year’s Remembrance  Day (Nov. 11) coincides with the weekend’s thirtieth anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. There were huge forces at work in both times. What we want to remember and honour most, however, are the individual stories of heartbreak, heroism and sacrifice lived out for the greater good.

There are, of course, great forces at work today. Their impact is felt just in weariness over the news. But the contributions we acknowledge now should prod us to recognize we are not powerless. What we do each day can and does make a difference, from how we speak to the drive-through person to the attitude we bring home from what we”ve been through for the day.

Big forces have their day. What we do in love has eternal significance.

Romans 12:17-18